We Interrupt Your Reading...For Some Watching! Television For, By and About Badass Women
I encourage all of our Badass Women’s Book Club hosts to begin every meeting asking for introductions and encouraging members to share something (else) they’ve been reading, watching or listening to that other members might enjoy. Lately so many suggestions have involved all the amazing television offerings for, by and about badass women! I hope you find lots of great recommendations below!
Amazon’s Emmy-award winning Fleabag is a huge favorite of our Badass Women’s Book Club members. But to be clear, actress and writer’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s story wasn’t one of overnight success. Check out her podcast interview with her on Elizabeth Day’s “How to Fail” podcast. And then listen to this episode (exactly one year later) after her Fleabag success. (and check out Elizabeth Day’s How to Fail book!)
Fleabag hot priest, Andrew Scott, is scheduled to play murderous Talented Mr. Ripley in an adaptation of the book by badass woman author Patricia Highsmith.
Thanks, Dixie Carter, for Giving Big-Mouthed Women a Boost. This was a touching tribute to the actress who starred as Julia Sugarbaker in the beloved 90s sitcom Designing Women, focused on four women balancing life and work while employed at the Sugarbaker & Associates interior design firm in Atlanta. The series, created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, is credited for being ahead of its time for touching on issues like women's rights, racism and homophobia. A reboot written by original creator Bloodworth-Thomason is currently in development at ABC. All seven seasons of Designing Women are now available on Hulu.
Get your copy of the unofficial cookbook for fans of NBC’s The Good Place.
There aren’t many (any?) actresses that can claim roles on three top television shows, but Kirby Howell Baptiste can! She plays Simone on NBC’s The Good Place, Sasha on HBO’s Barry, and Elena on BBC’s Killing Eve. Read more about this talented actress!
Sarah Goldberg plays Sally on HBO’s Barry, the show about an ex-marine-turned-hitman who decides to make a career transition. To acting. On the show, Sarah stars alongside Bill Hader. And Henry Winkler. Turns out even Emmy-nominated actress suffer from imposter syndrome! Check out this podcast interview where she talks about she deals with it.
I’ve already shared how I’m overwhelmed by all of the love for “Friends” among the teen set. Even fashion is getting in the act with the Ralph Lauren X Friends 25th Anniversary fashion collection. Listening to this recent episode of On Point helps me understand the recent nostalgia TV takeover. (But be warned – after listening you may have the theme song from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air stuck in your head for days!)
You’ll want a copy of this book for all your friends!
Speaking of TV nostalgia, remember ER? (Paging George Clooney!) I loved this article about how the doctors might have made the show memorable, but it was the nurses who made the show radical. Challenging the established narratives that hospital dramas were only about the lives and stories of the doctors, ER presented a radical rethinking of who matters in a hospital and what stories are worth telling.
There are several new shows I’m hoping to check out this fall, including Carol’s Second Act, a new CBS sitcom starring Patricia Heaton (The Middle, Everybody Loves Raymond) as a retired teacher who begins a second career as a doctor. If you’re thinking about your own second act, check out my recent blog post on reinvention and what’s next!
Jane Lynch and Cyndi Lauper will co-star in a comedy described as “kind of a ‘Golden Girls’ for today.”
The third season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel will drop on Amazon Prime on December 7th. While anxiously awaiting more of Midge, Sheri and whole crew, check out this interview with co-creators Amy Sherman Palladino and Dan Palladino for a behind-the-scenes peek into how the comedy gets written.
Check out my recent post on books to read if you love these shows!
An overbearing a boss. An unbearable white-bro culture. An idealistic and talented young woman trying to embrace the job of her dreams. How to survive – and thrive – in that toxic work environment is the plot of Late Night, the movie starring Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson that’s now available on Amazon Prime.
While Kaling’s tale (she’s also the writer) is a light comedy, we’ve all seen art imitating life at some point in our careers. Check out these 5 books if you’re struggling to overcome the impacts of a toxic work environment.
Netflix’s Unbelievable is a powerful, powerful drama about the women detectives whose persistence and compassion helped solve a serial rape case.
Unbelievable is based on true events, much like the “ripped from today’s headlines” of Law and Order SVU. Check out this interview with SVU actress, Mariska Hargitay, as she reflects on Harvey Weinstein, #MeToo and her 21 seasons battling sexual violence on screen.
Page to Screen updates - both of these books by badass women are being developed into shows!
The show I won’t be watching this fall? The new Nancy Drew series on CW. I hated it – but you can judge for yourself.
Let’s end on a happier note! You can catch Happier author, Gretchen Rubin every Monday on CBS This Morning!
Full disclosure: I earn a small commission from any sales made from the links above. Thank you in advance for your support!